


We are Blood

by edema_ruh



Series: Delivered from the Blast [6]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Angst, Arguing, Car Accidents, Crime Fighting, Fights, First Kiss, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, Kidnapping, Love Confessions, Mind Control, Mind Reader Enjolras, Superheroes, Superpowers, Unresolved Emotional Tension, accidental murder, car crash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-05
Updated: 2016-04-05
Packaged: 2018-05-31 12:08:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6469507
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edema_ruh/pseuds/edema_ruh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras finds out about the Patron-Minette's intentions and Grantaire finally returns after a long time away from his friends.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We are Blood

"Are you sure this is the best idea?", Combeferre whispered, tired. "Jehan is barely stable, and you want to go on a mission with only Bahorel and Feuilly as backup, to fight superhumans you've never seen. You don’t even know how many they are or what powers they have". 

"I have to do this", Enjolras argued. "I need to do this for Jehan". 

"This wasn't your fault, Enjolras", Combeferre sighed, massaging his own temples in irritation. "Stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong. You need to sit down and think this through, you're not considering-" 

"I'm thinking just fine, thanks", Enjolras interrupted. "And as we speak, their trail is getting colder. I need to go, do you have everything handled around here?" 

Combeferre just stared at him, worried. 

"You've never been so reckless", he commented. "You always plan things. What's different about this?" 

Enjolras rubbed his face with both hands, irritated.  

"You can trust me, Enjolras", Combeferre reassured. 

"It could have been anyone", Enjolras sighed. "That woman wants me, Combeferre, I saw it in her mind the moment she first touched me. She wants my power. And she clearly won't stop until she gets it, they only shot Jehan because he managed to teleport himself away from the superhuman. And it could have been anyone. It could have been you. So don’t say that what happened to Jehan isn't on me, because _it is_ ". 

"But it wasn’t", Combeferre said. "You couldn’t know what would have happened. Besides, what do you plan on doing? The prison cells aren't ready yet". 

"I'll keep them unconscious until they are", Enjolras retorted. 

"You'll keep an unknown number of men unconscious for half a month inside the house we live?" Combeferre raised his eyebrow. "We both know that this plan has a high chance of going wrong". 

"It won't", Enjolras said, looking Combeferre deep inside his eyes. "I'm getting better at this, Ferre. I can control my powers better than before. I can do this". 

"Enjolras, you know I'm your best friend and I'll always be here for you when you need me, but trust me. This isn't a plan, you're being reckless. I'm sorry, but I cannot support you on this". 

Enjolras stared at Combeferre for several tense seconds before speaking up. 

"Then don’t support me. I'm still going". 

He exited the lab, ignoring Combeferre's calls, and went upstairs to the main room, where Bahorel and Feuilly were ready and waiting for him. Enjolras made his way to the front door without talking to either of them, a dark look on his face. The pair exchanged a look but followed the man out anyway, getting inside the car in silence. 

"Here's the plan", Enjolras said, sounding furious, grip on the steering wheel so tight that it made his knuckles go white. "We go to where Jehan was shot, we track down the superhuman responsible. He can turn into a dark mist, which Feuilly will dissipate by emanating the energy he absorbed in the form of light. He won't be alone and we don’t know what power or how many of them there are, so be ready for anything". 

"Shouldn’t we be taking more backup?" Bahorel asked. 

"No", Enjolras immediately responded. "The more people we take with us, the more unprotected the manor will be". 

"And it doesn’t matter how unprotected _we_ are?" Feuilly raised an eyebrow. 

"If you aren't up for this you can get out of the car", Enjolras responded through gritted teeth. Bahorel and Feuilly exchanged another hesitant look. 

"We're up for this", Bahorel responded, wary. "But are _you_?" 

"I don’t know what that's supposed to mean", Enjolras growled, starting the car and taking off. 

"You're acting weird", Feuilly explained. "You're too... aggressive, you're never like this. You're always... level headed". 

"Except when you're arguing with Grantaire", Bahorel completed, sounding surprised, staring at Enjolras as if the man might burst into flames any second. 

Enjolras was looking straight ahead at the road, refusing to meet Bahorel's eyes. His lips were shut tight, forming a thin line. 

"Is... is this about R? Did something happen to him?" Bahorel asked, worried. 

"Not that I know of", Enjolras scoffed, poisonous irony dripping from his voice. "He went away and disappeared, remember?" 

"Do you think he may have been captured?" Feuilly asked, frowning. "By these people who tried to take Jehan?" 

Enjolras scoffed again, face twisted into an angry scowl. The true was that, as soon as he read Jehan's mind and saw what happened, an uncontrollable worried took over his mind. If Grantaire truly loved his as everyone said he did, he wouldn’t just disappear without even telling them where he went. The only possible explanation was that he had been captured by those people. Enjolras' heart was thumping madly inside his chest; he would never be able to forgive himself if something happened to Grantaire because of him. 

Bahorel and Feuilly decided to stay quiet for the rest of the trip to the library, since Enjolras wasn’t showing any signs that he would answer their questions. They arrived at the city in less time than it usually took, probably because it was nearly midnight and the streets were nearly deserted. The library had just closed, and there were no signs of people on the street.  

Enjolras walked over to the spot where Jehan had been shot. There was no blood on the floor – the poet had teleported himself away from the scene to fast for the blood to drip – and no signs of the superhuman who attacked him. Enjolras closed his eyes, concentrating on the minds around him and searching for any signs of the fog man or people who might have seen him. There were too many thoughts for him to find any information, but after a few minutes Enjolras thought he could see a dark shadow spreading on an ally wall. It was three blocks away from there. 

"I think I found him", Enjolras muttered, signaling for Bahorel and Feuilly to follow him as he jogged to the ally. "Keep your eyes very open". 

Bahorel stopped to grab a lamppost, immediately absorbing the material and turning metallic. It made him look more shiny but it also protected him from any unpredictable attack. 

As they reached the ally, Enjolras halted the pair with a raise of hand, slowly scanning the ally for brainwaves. There were four. Enjolras looked back at his friends, signaling the number four with one hand. Bahorel and Feuilly nodded at him at the same time. 

_Stop what you're doing_ , Enjolras mentally ordered the four people in the ally. _Come out and give me any weapons you may have. Tell me who sent you._  

"Yeah, I don’t think that's happening, pretty boy", a deep voice came from inside the ally. Enjolras frowned. How were these people resisting his mind control? "Why don't _you_ come here?" 

He looked up at Bahorel, who seemed to be as confused as he was. Enjolras tried to knock the four people out with a brainwave, but he didn’t hear any bodies collapsing against the floor. It was almost as if they were protecting themselves from Enjolras' telepathy somehow. 

If that was the case, he was useless against them. And now they would be able to track them back to the manor. 

He probably should have listened to Combeferre. 

"Let me make this clear for you, sugar", a voice coming from behind the three Amis said, and they all turned around at the same time. A man, probably on his early twenties, with a dark black hair that was covered mostly by a brand new top hat, was standing behind them, leaning casually against the brick wall. His clothes were elegant despite being a little dusty, and his face was marked by a pair of shiny green eyes and cherry blossom lips. He looked like someone Enjolras would avoid when walking alone in the night, seeming to be the type of criminal who'd commit the most atrocious crimes against someone. The man pulled out a pocked knife from his waistcoat with an air of boredom, as if this scene was an usual occurrence for him. He pointed the knife at Enjolras, not menacingly, but in a demonstrational way. "You, pretty blond, are coming with us. If you come without making a fuss we'll leave your friends alone. You make a sound I don't like, I'll have my guys shoot them like they did with the small flowery guy earlier this night. That clear?" 

"Yeah, that's not happening", Bahorel said, slapping the knife away from the man's hand with a loud clack. The man looked up at him, unimpressed, hand lingering on the air where it was before Bahorel slapped him. 

"Well, that's your call, tin man", the man smirked, pushing himself away from the wall and standing straight, pulling his waistcoat down as if to straighten it. He put both little fingers on each corner of his mouth and whistled loudly, sound echoing in the silent night. 

Four man emerged from the darkness of the ally, standing right in front of Enjolras. One of the men looked exactly like the top hat, he was even wearing the exact same clothes. Enjolras frowned. 

"You must be wondering if that's my twin", the man behind them stated, smiling. "But what's the fun of explaining when I can show you?" 

Both man took off their top hats, bowing in an exaggerated reverence to Enjolras. 

"Montparnasse, at your service", they said in unison. "And these are my special friends, Claquesous, Babet and Gueulemer. You'll soon find out how unwise it was to defy us". Montparnasse threw the top hat on the floor with gentleness, almost absentmindedly, as he walked over towards Enjolras and ran a finger down his cheek. "Well, aren't you a pretty boy?" 

"Get your hands off him", Bahorel said, menacinly. 

"Or what, big man? You're gonna punch me?" Montparnasse laughed with scorn. "You'll have to punch a whole lot of people tonight, then". 

Montparnasse's twin spread both arms, hands wide open, and his body began to shake as if he was vibrating. Suddenly, another Montparnasse appeared beside him. And another. And another. And another. The three Amis found themselves surrounded by five Montparnasses and the three other men that were with him. 

"What do we do, Enjolras?" Feuilly whispered in the man's ear as they shrunk themselves as far away from the gang as possible. 

_I'll stall for time_ , Enjolras told them mentally. _On my command, be ready to attack them._  

"Who sent you?" Enjolras asked one of the Montparnasses, he couldn’t be sure whether it was the original or one of the copies. 

"Oh, you know who did", Montparnasse smirked. "And she's not after you because of your pretty face. To be honest, I thought you'd be smarter than this, coming all unprepared after us to look for vengeance for your fallen friend. Has he died already, by the way?" 

There was static tingling on Feuilly's fists, making the sleeves of his shirt singe. 

_Figure out who the original is_ , Feuilly thought, hoping Enjolras would hear him. _If you take him out there'll only be three of them to deal with._  

_"_ Now, Claquesous", Montparnasse instructed, running a finger through Bahorel's chest in a way that would be sensual in any other situation. "Why don’t you take our blonde bunny to a special walk? Me and the guys can take care of these two". 

The man – Claquesous – turned his head towards the sky and inhaled deeply, body melting and turning into a dark fog. _The man who had attacked_ _Jehan_ _._  

Enjolras scanned their brains, all of them, looking for the original Montparnasse. There was something wrong, something blocking his powers whenever he tried to use them on the group, but he couldn’t give up. The dark mist was already spreading around Enjolras' feet, starting to engulf him. Concentrating all his power on Montparnasse, he found which one was the original. 

_It's that one!_ , he mentally screamed to Feuilly and Bahorel. _The one who came out from the ally and is standing right beside the redhead!_  

The fog was already at his neck, nearly chocking him, but before the darkness engulfed him completely he saw Feuilly striking the original Montparnasse with what pure energy. What looked like a lightning bold was sent from his hands and struck Montparnasse straight on the chest, sending him flying and hitting the ground, top head rolling away from his unconscious form. The other copies trembled and disappeared, as if they had never been there in the first place. 

Enjolras could only see darkness now, but he knew he was being moved. As the seconds ran by, he noticed that Claquesous' mind grew more and more readable, as if whichever block that had been protecting him had been lifted. Enjolras wasted no time and mentally attacked the man, making the dark grasp holding his body in place loosen up and disappear. The dark fog around him dissipated, and Enjolras found himself being thrown midair, as if he had been flying in a high speed and was suddenly dropped. He braced himself for the impact against the brick wall, and covered his head as best as he could as his body collided against the hard surface. He fell to the floor, holding his injured shoulder, and saw Claquesous – now in his human form – also injured a few feet away from him, trying to get up. 

Enjolras got to his feet, stumbling, and walked over to the bald man, holding him by the shirt collar. 

"What is her name?" Enjolras asked Claquesous, who was looking at him with pure hatred on his eyes. He turned his head and spat on the floor, looking back up at Enjolras and starting to turn into fog again. 

"Oh, no, no, no", Enjolras smiled without humor. "You're not going anywhere". 

- 

As Enjolras was engulfed by the dark fog and disappeared, Feuilly and Bahorel stared at each other. The two remaining men – Babet and Gueulemer - snarled at them and approached the pair, both cracking their knuckles.  

"Alright", Bahorel said, back glued to Feuilly's, "I take the big one and you take the smaller one?" 

"Ok", Feuilly agreed, instantly letting the energy flow away from his body in the form of what looked like a lightning bolt. The smaller man – who was still bigger than Feuilly – dodged, throwing himself on the floor and getting up without effort. Meanwhile, Bahorel had thrown a punch against the bigger man – Gueulemer -, but it was useless. Gueulemer stopped his blow as if it had been a child punching him. He hit Bahorel on the jaw with such force that the man was sent back, colliding against the floor with a metallic clank. 

Feuilly tried to hit Babet again but the man managed to dodge the attack somehow. Feuilly frowned, not understanding what was happening. It was almost as if... 

Babet was making him miss on purpose. 

Babet's eyes glowed green – just like Montparnasse's eyes had glowed – and the man smiled. Feuilly caught himself turning around and walking to Bahorel against his will. Babet had taken control of Feuilly's body. 

Feuilly saw his own hands outstretch and a lightning came out of it, hitting Bahorel on the shoulder. His lover felt back on the floor with a groan, and yelled "what the fuck, Feuilly?", just as Feuilly prepared himself to strike him again. 

The other blow hit Bahorel on the leg as he tried to get away from his lover. Feuilly was trying with all his might to stop himself, to regain control of his actions, but Babet's influence in the back of his brain was strong. He may not be a telepath as strong as Enjolras, but he was definitely hard to overcome. 

"Feuilly, stop!", Bahorel yelled, trying to fight Gueulemer at the same time Feuilly attacked him again. "What the fuck are you doing?" 

Bahorel managed to dodge Feuilly's next attack, but this resulted on Gueulemer catching him on a chokehold and immobilizing him. Bahorel was scratching the man's arm wildly, desperate to get away as the lack of air made itself known and sent a stinging sensation to his lungs. Feuilly was ready to strike Bahorel again – no, no, _no!_ , Feuilly's mind was screaming -, just as Bahorel let his arms fall down beside his body and absorbed the concrete on the floor. 

Feuilly's lightning hit Bahorel on the chest, to no avail. The impact sent both Bahorel and Gueulemer back, forcing the larger man to let go of Bahorel, who wasted no time in punching him in the face despite the dizziness from the lack of air. After several punches, Gueulemer's head fell back against the floor, swollen, and the man passed out. 

Feuilly was still behind Bahorel, attacking him half heartedly, body running out of energy. Bahorel looked to his right, spotting Babet hiding in the shadows, glowing green eyes standing out against the darkness. Bahorel got to his feet and marched towards the man, who tried to take over Bahorel's body too but couldn’t. He turned on his heels and tried to run away, but Bahorel caught him before he could jump over the wall. He hit the man's head against the brick wall twice before he fell to the floor, passed out. 

Bahorel ran back to Feuilly, who was now kneeling on the floor with a hand on his temple. 

"Are you alright?" Bahorel asked, taking Feuilly on his arms gently. 

"I'm so sorry, 'Rel", Feuilly muttered. "I tried to fight it but I couldn’t". 

"It's ok, I'm fine", Bahorel said, abandoning the concrete form and turning back into flesh. "But how are _you_?" 

"I'm ok. I've got one hell of a headache, but I'm ok", Feuilly said. "We need to find Enjolras", he continued, getting up with Bahorel's help. "If he freed himself like I think he did, he isn't very far from here". 

"What about them?" Bahorel gestured to the unconscious trio, Montparnasse, Babet and Gueulemer. 

"I think we need to find Enjolras first", Feuilly said. "If that woman gets his powers, we'll have more to worry about than three superhuman criminals who we already know how to defeat". 

"Shouldn’t we call for backup?" Bahorel suggested, following Feuilly to the car. 

"That might be a good idea. Call Combeferre". 

"Man, he's going to eat Enjolras alive after this", Bahorel commented, dialing the number and waiting for the friend to pick it up. "Hey, Ferre, how you doing my man? So, we may or may not need a little help back here. Oh, Enjolras? He's fine, yeah, he just... uh... kind of... got captured by the fog man... maybe you could send someone to help us stop him from being killed? Thanks Ferre, I knew I could always count on you". 

- 

"I won't ask you again", Enjolras said. "Tell me what you know". 

"I won't repeat it again", Claquesous replied, mockingly. "If you want to know anything, you'll have to _get it by force_ ". 

"Alright", Enjolras said, getting up from where he was kneeling beside Claquesous. "I made a promise I'd never read anyone's mind without their consent, but you leave me no choice". 

Enjolras entered Claquesous mind, despite feeling a little guilty about it. He knew that this was the only way to stop the woman from harming more people, but there was still a part of his brain that kept screaming that this was wrong. 

He saw the woman who attacked him, ordering Claquesous and the other three man – the _Patron-Minette_ , as they called themselves – to bring Enjolras to her, no matter how. Beside her, a tall man stood, with a menacing look on his face. Enjolras saw the place where they met, the backdoor of a bar that wasn’t very far from there. He saw Claquesous waiting on Jehan, turning into mist and engulfing the poet, and saw when Claquesous pulled out a gun and shot his friend. He saw the way Claquesous smirked when Jehan disappeared, knowing he had injured the man. Enjolras felt an uncontrollable rage fill him at the sight of this man – this crook – rejoicing on his friend being hurt. Rejoicing on _people_ being hurt. He looked further, searching for any mention of Grantaire's name or any sight of Grantaire's face. He started to dig in deep into the man's head, looking for anything he could have on Grantaire or on any of his friends. Hundreds of memories rushed in front of Enjolras' eyes at the same time, flooding his senses and his mind. 

Enjolras heard someone call his name and suddenly a harsh pain on his head blinded his vision. He fell back on his butt, unsteady and blinking his unfocused eyes. 

"Enjolras, oh my god, there you are", Feuilly's voice was above him, full of relief. "Are you ok?" 

"Yeah, I'm... I'm good. What about you?" Enjolras asked, looking up at the pair. 

"We're ok", Bahorel replied, staring warily at Claquesous. "What happened?" 

Enjolras followed Bahorel's line of sight and saw Claquesous lying unresponsive on the floor. His eyes were open but unseeing, and there was blood leaking out from his nostrils. 

Enjolras kneeled on the floor, dread taking over his body. He took two trembling fingers to Claquesous' neck, checking for a pulse. 

There was none. 

"Is he...?" Feuilly asked, wary. 

Enjolras looked up at his two friends again, eyes full of tears. _What had he done?_  

"He's dead", Enjolras said, sounding frightened. "I killed him". 

- 

"Enjolras, this wasn’t your fault", Joly told him as he checked his pupils. "You were just trying to find out how to stop that woman, how was her name again?" 

"Madame Thénardier", Enjolras muttered, not looking at Joly as he checked his injured shoulder. 

"Yes, her", Joly replied. "I'm not going to say that this wasn’t reckless of you, but you didn’t purposefully kill him. He would have killed you if he could". 

"But this wasn’t supposed to happen", Enjolras said with a small voice. "I wasn’t supposed to kill him. Criminal or not, it was not my place to take his life". 

"You need to rest", Joly replied, avoiding Enjolras' gaze either. "Doctor's orders". 

"I'm a murderer, Joly", Enjolras whispered, finally allowing the tears to fall from his eyes.  

Joly pulled Enjolras into a hug, caressing his blond curls as his friend sobbed on his arms. 

"This wasn’t supposed to happen", Enjolras sobbed, voice muffled by Joly's coat. "I wasn’t supposed to kill people, I'm supposed to protect them". 

"But you didn’t mean to kill him, Enj", Joly reassured. "It was an accident. You can't blame yourself like this for something that escaped your control". 

"I could have controlled it better", Enjolras explained, looking up at Joly with teary eyes. "If I just hadn't allowed my anger to take the best of me. And now the three other criminals have escaped and they'll probably tell this Thénardier woman what happened and we won't be able to track them... and I will have killed this man in vain". 

"Enjolras, please. I know you're feeling guilty and that's absolutely normal. But you can't blame yourself for this, our friends need you. The people on this city need you. _I_ _need you_ ". 

"Combeferre must be so mad at me", Enjolras sniffed. 

"He's not. He's your friend". 

"He told me he wouldn’t support me on this before I left. I should have listened to him". 

"You can't change the past, Enjolras. What you can do is work harder to make sure the future will be better, no matter what mistakes you may have committed. Here, take this", Joly handed him a small bottle. "These are sleeping pills. Take one to help you sleep tonight, and we'll discuss this better tomorrow ok?" 

"Ok", Enjolras resigned, getting up from the chair and wiping away his tears. "How's Jehan?" 

"He'll live", Joly replied. "Miraculously, the bullet didn’t hit anything vital. He just needs to recover now". 

"Tell him I'm sorry", Enjolras muttered. "For endangering his life". 

"He doesn’t blame you, Enj. None of us do", Joly smiled at him. 

"I'm going to bed", Enjolras replied. "Goodnight, Joly". 

"Goodnight, Enjolras". 

Combeferre showed up on Enjolras' bedroom half an hour later, a stern look on his face. They stared at each other in silence for a long time before Combeferre spoke up. 

"I'm not here to tell you I told you so", he explained. Enjolras merely nodded. 

Combeferre walked over to the bed and lied down beside Enjolras, like he usually did when he wanted to support his friend but didn't know how to. Enjolras snuggled himself closer to Combeferre, thankful for the support. 

"I'm sorry", Enjolras muttered. 

"You shouldn’t dwell on it", Combeferre replied simply. "What is done is done". 

"How can I ever make it up for you?" 

"You don’t need to make it up for me", Combeferre sighed. "What we need to do is to find this woman, and make sure she receives the punishment she deserves for bringing so much pain into our lives". 

"I killed a man", Enjolras whispered, his voice the only sound in the dark room. Combeferre pulled him closer, caressing his hair. 

"You did". 

"I didn’t mean to", Enjolras continued, breath hitching in his throat. 

"I know you didn’t". 

"Will it ever go away?" 

"What?" 

"This feeling of guilt". 

"It will pass my friend, as soon as you forgive yourself", Combeferre reassured. "It will probably take you sometime to do so, but for now, I hope my forgiveness is enough for you". 

Enjolras looked up at his best friend, teary eyed. 

"I forgive you, Enjolras", Combeferre said, still stroking his hair. 

It wasn’t enough to make Enjolras' guilt go away, but it was enough to make him get a bit of sleep that night. 

- 

Half a week after the incident with Claquesous, Grantaire returned. 

Enjolras was still shaken about the situation with Patron-Minette, but seeing Jehan awake and already managing to take some steps on the lab made him feel somewhat better. He called for a group meeting half a week after the library, hoping to share what he had found out about his enemies and to discuss a course of action. 

He was halfway through explaining what he saw on Claquesous' head when Éponine went pale all over and dropped her glass. 

"Ponine?" Marius asked, worried. "What's wrong?" 

"The name", she whispered, staring at Enjolras with wide eyes. "What did you say the woman's name was?" 

"Madame Thénardier", Enjolras repeated, frowning. "Why? Do you know her?" 

"Project", Éponine said, swallowing dry. "Project her face to me". 

"Éponine, I don't-" 

"You saw her face, didn’t you?" Éponine interrupted, shaking. Enjolras nodded. "Then project it to me. I need to see her face". 

Enjolras thought about the woman's face and projected it to Éponine, who looked frightened to the core. She sat down on the couch, trembling, covered in cold sweat. 

"Éponine, what's wrong?" Marius was trying to urge her to speak, Combeferre taking her hand worriedly. 

"S-she's m-my mot-ther", Éponine said. Enjolras had never seen the girl so frightened in his life. She always seemed so strong and independent, but only now that Enjolras thought about it, he realized she never mentioned her parents. "And t-the man standing b-behind her is my f-father". 

"Holy shit", Courfeyrac muttered.  

"They're dangerous, Enjolras", Éponine said. "They won't stop until t-they get what they w-want. T-they... they..." 

"They nearly took us away from 'Ponine", Gavroche explained, arriving with Azelma on the main room. Apparently, they had been eavesdropping. "They had our guard but we were basically their slaves". 

"Yeah. If 'Ponine hadn't fought so hard for our guard as she did we would have never gone to school", Azelma supplied. 

"They're criminals", Gavroche said. "Ponine was lucky she ran away from them when she could. Otherwise she may have ended up just like that Patron-Minette guys". 

"Do you think... do you think you can help us?", Enjolras asked. "To take her down?" 

"I didn’t even know she had powers", Éponine muttered. "If she has, than my father probably has them too. Which means they're twice as dangerous as we first thought". 

"Do they have any weaknesses?" Enjolras asked. "Any weak spots, any safe houses, anything that can help us?" 

Éponine looked like she was trying to answer but her lips were quivering and her face was still as pale as a candle. Combeferre sent Enjolras a warning look, and helped her get up from the couch. 

"I think what Éponine needs right now is to take a cool shower and rest", he said. "We can all discuss this later, there is no rush, since the cells aren't even ready yet. We'll talk about this tomorrow". 

He took Éponine away from the room, the girl still shaking, and Gavorche and Azelma lingered by. 

"We could probably help you to find them", Azelma told Enjolras. "But we're going to wait for Ép to calm down". 

"Yeah", Gavroche completed. "She would have our heads if we ever approached Jondrette again". 

"Jondrette?" Enjolras asked. "That's your father's name?" 

Gavroche scoffed. 

"One of his many names. He's had so many I can't remember his real one". 

"'Ponine never spoke of them. To any of us", Enjolras pointed out. 

"That's because some things aren't meant to be shared", Azelma said, looking stern. "We've got to go. The sooner we finish these cells, the sooner we'll end this whole madness". 

With that both Gavroche and Azelma left to the lab, leaving Enjolras alone on the main room. 

Or maybe not as alone as he first thought. 

"Didn’t know you allowed kids on your cause", Grantaire spoke from behind him, startling Enjolras, who immediately turned on his heels to look at the man. 

Grantaire was standing in front of the door, hands tucked inside the pockets on his green hoodie, hair disheveled and as curly as Enjolras remembered. There were dark circles beneath his eyes and he looked a little under the weather, but otherwise he was there, and he was _beautiful_. 

"Your security would be shit if it wasn’t non-existent", Grantaire commented. 

Maybe it was the fact that Enjolras hadn't seen or spoke to Grantaire in almost a month, or maybe the fact that he had thought he might have lost Grantaire forever. Maybe it was the fact that Enjolras came to terms with himself and admitted he had feelings for the man, or maybe it was simply the fact that he missed his friend. The point is, Enjolras couldn’t control himself. He ran and threw himself on Grantaire, hugging him as tightly as he could, not letting the man go. Grantaire seemed confused, and it took him a few seconds to hug Enjolras back. 

"Ok", he said, "Not the reception I had expected, but ok". 

"Where have you _been_?!" Enjolras asked, angrily pulling Grantaire away and checking the man for injuried. "Do you have any idea of how worried we were? We looked for you _everywhere_!" 

"Sorry about that", Grantaire scratched the back of his head. "I just... needed sometime, that's all". 

Seeing Grantaire in front of him gave Enjolras a huge boost of confidence, and the constant guilt looming inside his brain diminished if only a little. Enjolras smiled widely at the man, who seemed confused and awkward. 

"So... I see you convinced everyone to come live here after all", Grantaire said, awkwardly. 

"I did. But tell me, where were you?" Enjolras asked. 

Grantaire seemed uncomfortable, not looking Enjolras in the eye. 

"With some friends", he said. "How's everyone?" 

Enjolras had a feeling Grantaire wasn’t telling him the whole truth, but decided not to push it. The last thing he wanted was Grantaire running away from him again. 

"They're fine. So much has happened while you were gone! Jehan was shot, but he's fine, he's feeling better already, we just found out the woman who absorbs powers is Éponine's mom and we may have a location, Gav and Azelma are already working on building the cells for superhumans, and everything is going fine!" 

Enjolras didn’t want Grantaire to know about Claquesous. It would be hard enough to regain the man's trust after all they went through, and if Enjolras really wanted to tell Grantaire about how it felt, it wouldn’t be too much of a good idea to tell him he murdered a man right now. 

"Enjolras, I know you", Grantaire said. "I can tell when you're not ok. Plus, you're acting like a happy puppy around me and I have no idea why, it's freaking me out". 

Enjolras' smile died on his face. 

"Sorry. I didn’t mean to... freak you out", he said, clearing his throat. 

"Tell me what's wrong?" Grantaire asked, sitting on the couch. 

"Don’t you want to say hello to our friends?" Enjolras suggested, wanting to change subjects. 

"I came here to talk to you", Grantaire responded, and Enjolras did his best to pretend that his heart didn’t skip a bit at this. Oh my god, he really did have a crush on Grantaire if his stomach was full of butterflies just from _seeing the man_. 

"Talk to me about what?" He asked, trying to keep his cool. 

"Claquesous", Grantaire replied, and Enjolras' face dropped. "Now, before you say anythi-" 

"How do you know about Claquesous?", Enjolras asked, face stern. 

"Look, Enjolras, don’t be mad, but Combeferre called me", Grantaire explained. 

"How did he call you if you don’t have a phone?" Enjolras squinted. 

"I _do_ have a phone", Grantaire rolled his eyes. "I contacted Joly last week and told him I was ok, and made him promise he wouldn’t tell anyone unless something catastrophic happened and you needed my help". 

Enjolras sat on the couch in front of Grantaire, still serious. The hollow feeling on his chest returned. 

"What do you want then?" Enjolras asked, not caring if he was being rude. Grantaire had contacted Joly to tell him he was alive, and no one told him about this. He had been crazy with worry about Grantaire, but Joly knew he was ok and didn’t tell Enjolras. God, the only reason Enjolras even went after Patron-Minette was because he thought they could have caught Grantaire! If he had known Grantaire was safe, the incident with Claquesous would never have happened. 

"How are you?", Grantaire asked. 

"I'm perfectly fine", Enjolras answered, dryly. 

"Look, I understand you must be mad, but I-" 

"Don't", Enjolras got up from the couch. "If that's the only reason why you came back, then feel free to leave now. I'm not going to talk about this with you". 

"Enjolras", Grantaire called, and it was so hard, _so hard_ to keep walking after hearing his name on Grantaire's lips. When Enjolras stopped walking, Grantaire decided to continue. "This isn't the only reason I came back". 

Enjolras turned around, looking at Grantaire. The man had his head bowed, staring at his own feet, cheeks blushed. 

"Why did you come back, then?" Enjolras asked with a small voice. 

"I missed you", Grantaire replied after a few seconds, still not looking at Enjolras. "I tried my best not to come back, despite wanting to every single day. But I just couldn’t. Not after... But then Combeferre called me yesterday, and he told me what happened and how _affected_ you were, and I just... I just couldn’t let you go through this alone". 

"I'm not affected", Enjolras scoffed. 

"Different, then", Grantaire refuted. "Admit it, had it been one month ago, you'd never hug me like you did today. You'd never _smile_ as soon as you laid eyes on me like you did. Something's changed". 

"Yes, something changed", Enjolras replied, irritated. "But it had nothing to do with Claquesous!" 

Grantaire seemed confused at this, frowning. 

"What does it have to do with, then?" 

Enjolras sighed, letting his arms fall impatiently. His heart was thumping madly inside his chest, and his palms were sweating. He had dreamed so many times about just telling Grantaire how he felt and making things less difficult. He even prayed for unknown gods for having a last chance at seeing the man face to face and telling him how much he liked him. No, not liked. _Loved_ him. Enjolras _loved_ Grantaire, there was no denying it now. 

Enjolras swallowed dry and held his breath, putting courage together to declare himself to Grantaire. 

"Enjolras?" Grantaire asked, sounding worried. Maybe things were worse than Combeferre had told him on the phone. 

"It has to do", Enjolras said, voice barely a whisper, "with my feelings for you". 

There was a pause in which neither of them breathed, Enjolras blushing madly, staring at his feet and Grantaire staring at Enjolras, wide eyed. 

"Your... feelings?" Grantaire repeated, a weird tone in his voice. 

"I d-didn’t realize it until you went away", Enjolras explained. "At first I didn’t even understand why I was so... hollow, without you here. But then I realized. I realized I have... feelings towards you". 

He finally gathered the courage to look up at Grantaire, and a sting hit his heart when he saw the man was staring at him with _anger_. 

"Grantaire?" Enjolras frowned. 

"This isn't fucking funny, Enjolras", Grantaire spat, furious. "And I hope you realize how this sounds". 

"I... I don’t understand", Enjolras said, confused. 

Grantaire let out an ugly laugh, scowling and shaking his head. 

"You know what, when Combeferre called me I thought you were really feeling bad and needed me, but now I see it was all just a trick to emotionally manipulate me into staying here to play superhero". 

"No!", Enjolras immediately protested. "No, that's ridiculous! I'd never do that!" 

"So you really expect me to believe you developed feelings for me during my time away?", Grantaire mocked. "Even if that's the case, it still sounds like bullshit. You probably just convinced yourself you liked me back because you felt too bad about _poor little_ _Grantaire_ with his _unrequited crush._ But I'll tell you this, Enjolras: I don’t need your pity. You can't undo all the wrongs in the world, so please stop fooling yourself into loving me just because you think you can save me". 

"You're getting it all wrong", Enjolras said, turning angry himself. "If you would just let me explain-" 

"You know what, I'm leaving", Grantaire said, "Have fun being super man, I have better things to do than to go through this shit again. I thought I could do this, but I can't. I'm tired of having my heart broken by you". 

"I killed Claquesous because of you!" Enjolras screamed at the same time Grantaire's hand reached for the doorknob. Grantaire paused on his tracks, frozen. He slowly turned around, looking at Enjolras with a wary look. 

"What?" Grantaire asked. 

"I thought you were _dead_ ", Enjolras said, breath hitching in his throat. "I thought those men had captured and hurt you like they did to Jehan, I didn’t know you were safe at your friend's house because _no one told me that._ For all I knew you could be dead! So when I caught Claquesous I dug into his head, looking at any and every single memory that could give me at least a clue that you were alive, because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you had died!" 

"Enjolras..." Grantaire said, reaching for the blonde. 

"No!", Enjolras protested, slapping Grantaire's hand away from him. "I lost control, I didn’t mean to _kill_ him, but I just needed to find you so I'd at least have a chance of telling you how much I love you before they finally captured me and killed me!" 

Grantaire was gaping at Enjolras, shocked. 

"You... love me?" He asked, after a few seconds of tense silence. 

"Yes!" Enjolras exclaimed, frustrated. "Why can't you just see that, you stupid man? I didn't realize until it was too late but now that you're here and I can finally tell you, you refuse to believe me!" 

Grantaire was still gaping at Enjolras, who had unshed tears on his eyes. Wasting no time, he pulled the blonde in for a kiss, their lips meeting with force but in a way that couldn’t be more perfect for the two of them. Enjolras' soft, red lips against Grantaire's chapped ones combined perfectly, and their first kiss may not have been the best of kisses, but it was theirs, and it was special. When Enjolras' tongue licked Grantaire's lower lip, the man couldn’t help but to let out a low, barely-hearable moan, but Enjolras noticed all the same and pulled him closer. 

When they parted, both blushing and panting, they couldn’t help but to smile at each other dumbly. 

"I love you too, you dumbass", Grantaire said, smirking.  

"You're ridiculous", Enjolras rolled his eyes, pulling Grantaire for a hug. 

"I'm sorry for leaving", Grantaire muttered against Enjolras' curls. 

"I'm sorry for not giving you a reason to stay", Enjolras replied, voice muffled by Grantaire's hoodie. 

"It's ok", Grantaire said, caressing Enjolras' curls. "We're gonna be ok". 

"Will you stay here?" Enjolras asked, and regreted it the moment he felt Grantaire's muscles tense up below him. "Not permanently, I mean", Enjolras continued. "Just until we catch this superhuman woman and put an end to this whole story. I think I'm done being a superhero". 

"It's not as easy as you thought it would be, huh?" Grantaire smiled, placing a kiss on the top of Enjolras' head. "Ok. I can stay for a while. Maybe I'll even help you catch her". 

Enjolras broke their hug, looking at Grantaire with shiny eyes and a growing smile. 

"Will you?" He asked, voice full of hope. Grantaire tried not to frown at how different Enjolras was. It was almost as if he was more... fragile. Combeferre had been right, Enjolras was very affected by Claquesous' death. 

"Yeah", Grantaire reassured. "I just need to go back to the city and get some of my stuff, I wasn’t exactly expecting to stay here". 

"Ok", Enjolras beamed. "Should I let everyone know you're here?" 

"Won't that take a while? I think it'd be better if I got goi-" 

Enjolras blinked his eyes with force – in a way that definitely. Was. Not. The. Cutest. Thing. Grantaire. Had. Ever. Seen. - and smirked. 

"There. They all know", Enjolras said. 

"Whoa", Grantaire laughed. There were footsteps echoing on the stairs and suddenly Joly and Bossuet were on the room, Bossuet throwing himself against Grantaire and knocking the man down to the floor. Joly followed his boyfriend, and soon Musichetta was there too, and Enjolras found himself standing in front of a human pile on the floor, everyone hugging Grantaire. 

Soon the rest of his friends got there too, even a limping Jehan aided by Feuilly. Everyone was relieved to see Grantaire back, and Bahorel even offered himself to go back to the city with the man to pick up his things and make sure he wouldn’t escape again. Grantaire laughed but declined the offer, assuring them all he would be back in less than an hour and giving his phone number so they could contact him if anything happened. 

"I'll be back soon", Grantaire told Enjolras, and all the Amis wolf whistled and yelled profanities when he pulled the blond man into another kiss. "Call me if anything happens". 

"I'll do", Enjolras smiled. Grantaire was opening the door, ready to leave, when Enjolras yelled: "Grantaire!" 

"Yeah?", his boyfriend asked, turning on his heels with a smile. 

"I love you", Enjolras said, ignoring the new wave of wolf whistles behind him. Grantaire smiled back. 

"I love you too", he said, before turning back and leaving the manor. 

Combeferre tapped Enjolras on the shoulder, smiling, as did Courfeyrac and Joly. Enjolras let out a sigh of relief, throwing himself on the couch and smiling. 

The guilt for what he'd done was still there, but now it was merely a background noise in front of all the good things that were happening. His prison was nearly ready, he had ways to stop the superhuman, Grantaire was back and returned his feelings. Grantaire had _kissed him._  

Everything was finally going perfectly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- 

Grantaire drove away towards the city, still feeling the ghost of Enjolras' lips against his. 

What was that? 

The last month had been a torment – the last four years had been a torment, if he was being fair to himself. But now, even after this turbulence in his relationship with Enjolras, they had finally communicated, and things were finally getting better. 

Grantaire couldn’t help but to smile widely at the memory of kissing Enjolras, doing a small victory dance behind the wheel. He couldn’t remember being this happy in months. 

He was probably so distracted by the fact that _Enjolras_ _had told him he loved him_ that he didn’t notice the car coming from beside him at full speed on the intersection ahead. In fact, Grantaire's confused mind didn't even realize what had hit him as his car keeled over on the road, so abruptly his head was smashed against the steering wheel and the window beside his head.  

As the vehicle came to a stop, lopsided and smashed, Grantaire let out a moan of pain. Everything was blurry and his vision was swimming, something wet on his forehead dripping down his face. His car had been hit by another car and capsized. He probably had a concussion and at least one broken bone. Grantaire's ears were ringing and that was probably why Grantaire didn’t notice there was somebody standing beside his wrecked car. 

"Help", Grantaire groaned, trying to drag himself away from the driver's seat and towards the door.  

The man standing beside the car placed a hand on the door and, with one hand, tore it away from the vehicle. He then shoved himself midbody inside the car, grabbing Grantaire by the armpits and pulling him away. The man dropped Grantaire harshly on the glass-covered floor, with no regard for the man. The sound of footsteps came from somewhere near Grantaire, but he couldn’t know where, since his head was still spinning. Suddenly a foot on his chest forced him to lie down on the floor, pieces of broken glass embing themselves on Grantaire's skin. He let out a tiny whimper. 

"Are you sure this will do the trick?" A male voice with a heavy accent spoke. 

"Yeah. The telepath loves this one", another voice responded. Grantaire couldn’t see their faces, his vision was too blurry and he knew he was about to pass out any second. 

Then the sound of high heels echoed against the concrete, and there was a calloused hand caressing his bruised cheek. 

"Aw, dear", Madame Thénardier told Grantaire. "I did tell you I would show you what I was capable of, didn’t I?" 

A fist connected with Grantaire's jaw and everything went black. 

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I am evil.  
> Kudos and comments make me happy and constructive criticism is always appreciated! As always thank you so much for reading, and you can always find me on edema--ruh.tumblr.com ♥


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